When conducting lab tests, a commonly used device is a sample support with multiple holders within it to hold a sample being tested. A rack of test tubes may support samples waiting to be tested or transferred, and a microtiter plate is often used for testing. This plate consists of a series of microwell holes in plate, with the holes being arranged in rows or columns.
To conduct any one of a number of tests utilizing the microtiter plate, it is necessary to use a pipette to provide material to each one of the individual microwells. Since a typical plate contains 8.times.12 horizontal and vertical rows, placing the material into the 96 individual microwells requires considerable care and deliberation. Certain tests may also require that different substances be placed in different microwells, further complicating the procedure. When different substances are being placed in different microwells, the possibility of cross-contamination between the microwells exists. Further, the exposure of the plate to the open air increases the likelihood of contaminants entering the microwells.
Additionally, it is often necessary for lab personnel to be able to determine which of the microwells have had the necessary substance transported to it, and which remain to be so inoculated. This is especially true when the laboratory personnel working with the plate must transport fluid samples from different identified sources to identified well holes in the microtiter plate, such as when a substance is removed from a tube in the test tube rack and placed in a microwell. Accuracy in transporting the sample from the properly identified source to the appropriate well is critical. If the sample is placed in the improper well, the identity of the sample is confused and permanently lost and the test results will be false. Therefore, accuracy is crucial. In a laboratory setting, personnel are at times distracted or must leave their work stations when they are in the midst of manually transporting samples to the microtitration plate. Also, the lab technician needs to be able to match the source of inoculant with the particular well hole to which it is to be transported.
This invention addresses these problems in the prior art by reducing cross-contamination and improving accuracy.